Hamas celebrates a victory

In the Gaza Strip a large meeting took place on Thursday to celebrate the cease fire that ended the Israeli attacks. The agreement was hailed as a victory, what indeed it was, as all Hamas´ demands were met: an end to the Israeli blockade, no Israeli incursions or targeted killings anymore, an end to the policy of a security zone of several hundreds of meters inside Gaza and all of the afore mentioned guaranteed by Egypt (look here for the full text of the agreement). 
Israel must  have come to the conclusion that, in spite of its many announcements that it hit ´rocket launch pads and ammunition storages´, the rockets kept coming, which left it no other options than accept these terms, or launch a ground offensive - with all the risks that would have come with it, like  loss of Israeli life, uncertainty about the outcome and near certainty that it would lead to yet more loss of goodwill around the world. So much for yet another futile but deadly and destructive Israeli campaign.
At the meeting all Palestinian factions were present as the flags in the photos more or less show. Several speakers urged the Palestinians now to start working in earnest at the reunification of Fatah and Hamas. One of the speakers (top picture) significantly was one of the leaders of Fatah, Nabil Shaath. (Photos Pal Today)